Page 82 - IRMSA Risk Report 2021

5.2.2 BUILDING ADAPTIVENESS AND AGILITY TO DEAL WITH COMPLEXITY AND
CHAOS

Leaders at the highest levels of the private and public sectors must embrace an enterprise-wide culture of integrated risk-
management to secure their future. Only by building risk-intelligent organisations will leaders be able to respond appropriately
to what some may see as threats and others as opportunities.

Exponential growth of information. Organisations that do not respond and build a competitive advantage around harnessing
their data will be left behind.

Adoption of new technologies. Failure, or even just a delay, to effectively implement digital transformation and new technologies
will become a target for the ones that do.

Agile and innovative business models. Organisational leadership that cannot design and develop new, agile and flexible business
models, towards delivering faster, excellent decision-making, will be overtaken by competitors.

Disruption. The new generation “whiz kids” are breaking all the rules, and traditional thinking is replaced with innovation,
creativity and speedy decision-making to break down boundaries of accessibility and delivering value.

Geopolitical landscape. Marked by Covid-19, climate change, trade wars, and other socio-economic upheavals.

THE CALL TO ACTION:

The pace of business is constantly accelerating in an increasingly complex global environment, resulting in greater uncertainty
than ever before and demanding an increase in faster, excellent decision-making. Therefore, part of the strategic function ought
to be to maintain a broad enough option field. Part of the risk-management function should be to provide safety guardrails to
explore and leverage that field safely.

It is done by using risk management as a sensing organ of the organisation (i.e. how do we know we are reaching the edges of
our option field where rapid adaptation is required).

Of course, part of the governance and assurance functions should also provide a safety net to operate safely while focusing on
agility, speed of decisions and implementation.

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